Saturday, May 27, 2017

Getting to know the native trees, bushes, and vines of the South Cumberland Region

Lately, I have taken a keen interest in the trees, bushes and vines that make up the larger flora of the South Cumberland Region. I found a Virginia Tech University website that has been most helpful in the process. It contains Dendrology Factsheets, one tree, bush, or vine species per page. Dendrology is defined as the scientific study of trees. The species are arranged by family, then genus. Since each tree they described, has a map of the area it naturally occurs, I could hone in on only those species that naturally occur in the South Cumberland region of Tennessee. When I did this, nearly 100 species remained I list only those species, and have kept them arranged by family, then by genus, and finally by species. There is a Fact Sheet for each species. I am now in the process of identifying every tree, bush, and vine on our 1.4-acre property, using these Fact Sheets. Surrounding our garden are trees, and trees create shade. Though surrounded by trees, the garden area is open enough so that every plant in the garden receives at least a half day of full sunshine, at least on those days where is sun actually shining. Lately, we have been getting a lot of rain, so some plants are starting to get a little bit etiolated.

So here is the list, again by family, then by genus and species. Frequency of their occurrence in the Southern Cumberland region and occurrence on our 1.4-acre property are noted, where A = abundant; B = Common, C = Occasional, D = rare, I = introduced, and "-" = either never seen or haven't recognized it for what it is: